Looking at Forever
by halfmyheart
Summary: Written for the Ars Amatoria Romance Themes Challenge. TommyxKimberly.
1. Spellbound

If I owned them I wouldn't be writing fanfiction now would I? ;)

A/N This is in response to Ars Amatoria's Ranger Romance Themes Challenge

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From the first time Kimberly Hart saw Tommy she knew that they were destined for each other. She saw him standing there and she completely forgot everything that she had been thinking about. It was embarrassing really, her mind going completely blank at the sight of him, and the worst part was that she couldn't stop thinking about him for the rest of the day. Thank God her teachers had the good sense not to ask her any questions in class, because it really would have been embarrassing if she had told them the answer was "Tommy".

Trini was no help on the subject; in fact she just made it worse.

"Aww, love at first sight, that's so romantic."

"This isn't funny Trini. I don't know what to do."

"Just tell him, you never know, he might feel the same way."

"Yeah maybe," Kim had sighed, "what is it Trini, why can't I think straight when he's around?"

"You're spellbound by him."

"Spellbound, great!"

"What? It's not a bad thing, most of the time…"

She wasn't quite sure at first what to say to him, imagine that, Kimberly Hart going speechless! It was his smile, at least that's what she told herself, but it was more than that. It was his eyes, and his laugh, it was everything about him that sent her brain into meltdown mode when he walked into the room. Finally, when she was sure she was going to make a complete fool of herself, she sat down and had a deep mental discussion with herself.

_Kimberly Ann Hart, what is wrong with you! You are the social butterfly of Angel Grove, how on earth could you be so transfixed by some guy that you can't even think straight when he's around. For heaven's sake he's **just a guy**, so either suck it up and talk to him or spend the rest of your life going brain dead when someone mentions his name. I mean what could he possible do, tell you no 'I don't want to be friends.' _

The next day, Kim took a deep breath as he walked by her locker. _OK this is it. It's now or never._

"Hi, you're new around her aren't you?"

He smiled and her heart melted, but not her brain. It was in that instant that she knew they were destined not only for each other, but for greatness.

Kim sighed, Trini was right, being spellbound wasn't such a bad thing after all.


	2. Mirror

Mirror

_The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart. –Unknown_

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Kim was drawn out of her daydream by a familiar voice calling her name.

"Hello. Kim. Earth to Kim."

"What? Oh, sorry Zack, I was miles away."

"I noticed," he said. "What was so important that you spaced out on me?"

Kim smiled and lowered her eyes to her notebook where dozens of tiny doodles betrayed her current train of thought only to well.

"Ah," said Zack, comprehension dawning in his voice, "I see. Well, you know Tommy will be at the juice bar later, right?"

"I know."

"Then you also know that we are having a surprise party for Jason's birthday," said Trini, joining them at the lunch table.

"Of course, I'm helping to plan it remember? Gee, you're so scatterbrained sometimes."

"No worse than you," said Trini good-naturedly as the three friends shared a laugh.

"So what are we doing for the party?"

"Well, we're having cake, courtesy of Ernie, and….Hey Jase, what's up," said Trini hastily breaking off her sentence as he approached the table.

"Nothing. Man, this has been the worst birthday ever. First the clock doesn't go off so I'm late for school, then we get a flat tire on the way to school, and when I finally get here I realize that my homework is still sitting on my desk at home. Oh, and to top it all off, look at this." Jason handed them a piece of crumpled up paper in disgust.

"Wow," said Kimberly, astonished by all the red marks as she unfolded it.

"Yeah," echoed Zack, "a 'D', man, that's rough."

"But look on the bright side;" said Kimberly, "things can only get better."

"Are you trying to say I've hit rock bottom here?"

Kim smiled, "no, I'm only saying that there are only two more classes left today. What could possible go wrong?"

Jason sighed as the bell signaling the end of lunch echoed throughout the cafeteria. "You'd be surprised Kim."

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"Is he here yet," asked Trini over Zack's shoulder.

"No, I haven't seen him," replied Kimberly scanning the crowd for Tommy. "Oh wait! There he is! Catch you guys later."

Kim snuck up behind Tommy and stood on her tippy toes to cover his eyes.

"Kim?"

"How did you know," she asked as he turned around and enveloped her in a hug.

"Your perfume, I'd now it anywhere. Plus, you are the only person who ever does that to me, so it's not that hard to figure out."

"Guess I need to come up with something less obvious then."

"Nah. So,"he said with a shy smile. "So you dance?"

"Sometimes."

"Do you want to dance now?"

"I'd love to." She said with a smiled as he took her hand and led her out onto the crowded dance floor.

_What if I told you it was all meant to be_

_Would you believe me, would you agree?_

_It's almost that feelin' that we've met before_

_So tell me you don't think I'm crazy_

"I feel so bad for Jason, I mean with all that stuff happening on his birthday and all," she said after a moment's awkward silence.

"Yeah, but you know what they say."

Kim looked up to meet his gaze, "no, what?"

He smiled, "I was hoping you would know."

_Everything changes but beauty remains_

_Something so tender I can't explain._

_Well I may be dreaming, but till I awake,_

_Can we make this dream last forever?_

Kim felt her cheeks redden slightly by what she saw in his eyes, but she tried to tell herself that it was the heat from the crowd and the dance that made her face turn scarlet.

She quickly looked away, hoping feverantly that Tommy hadn't noticed anything.

"You're turning red," he said.

She nodded, "Yeah, it's hot in here."

"Wanna go somewhere else?"

"Umm….after the dance," she said, daring to look up once more and meet his steady gaze.

It was there. She wasn't sure what it meant, but something had changed in Tommy, something that told her that they were no longer going to dance around each other. If her intuition was working properly, she was willing to bet that she had just left the single life behind, for good.

_Could this be the greatest love of all_

_I wanna know that you'll catch me when I fall_

_So let me tell you this…_

_Some people wait a lifetime_

_For a moment like this._


	3. Gift

_A/N Takes place during the episode 'A Different Shade of Pink'. This is what Tommy could have been thinking then and how he got the teddy bear. It's been years since I've seen the episode so I'm sorry if I've made any mistakes with the dialogue or anything. _:)

On with the story!

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Gift

Tommy didn't know what to buy. It wasn't as if it really mattered, the only thing that she would care about was that it was a gift from his heart.

Standing in the hospital gift shop Tommy debated between a small vase of flowers and the world's cutest teddy bear, or at least that's what the sign above it said.

_Flowers don't last forever; they die in no time. I want something that will last forever, something that she can look at and think of me, _thought Tommy placing the vase back on the shelf. He thoughtful picked up the small white bear and turned it over in his hands. _She'd really like this, _he mused.

Making up his mind Tommy approached the counter and eagerly paid the 5.50 that the bear cost. _It's worth it_ he thought as he got on the elevator. _She's worth it._

Exiting the elevator he soon found himself staring at the beautiful figure lying complacently on the hospital bed, and felt his heart skip a beat. _Time to wake up._

He walked over to the bed and handed her the teddy bear, "Hey, don't you know you're supposed to land on your feet?"

Kim smiled, "I thought I'd try something different. Guess I should just stick to what works, huh?"

"You had me really scared. With everything we've been through with Rita and Zedd, this has been the worst," said Tommy watching her admire the stuff bear.

She looked up at him, "Thanks for being here, Tommy."

"What are friends for?"

Much to Tommy's chagrin, their reunion was cut short as he was called away to duty.

"I'll go with you," said Kim, beginning to sit up.

Tommy gently put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back on the bed. "No, you stay here and rest. I can handle it. Just get better, ok?"

"Ok," she said with a smile.

"I'll be back before you know it." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead before moving to the door.

At the door he took a moment to look back at the women he loved. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he saw Kim cradling the teddy bear tight to her chest. _I knew she'd like it._


	4. Scars

_A/N This is set in the future, sometime during Dino Thunder. It's not very happy, but lets face it, all romances have a dark side at one point or another. I promise that the next one will be much happier._ :)

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Scars

He always knew there was something different. In fact, things hadn't been the same since that day; the day that he knew would change him for the rest of his life, not only emotionally, but mentally as well. He would never look at a woman quite the same again. There would always be that nagging question at the back of his mind, the one that kept him awake at night and tortured him during the day at the most inopportune moments. Did she really like him, or was she just biding her time until 'the right one' came along and swept her away?

He remembered it all so clearly. The day had been warm and bright. The birds were singing happily in the trees and all was right with the world. It was a perfect day for a disaster.

The letter arrived with the daily dose of bills and junk mail and was waiting on Tommy when he arrived home from school. Eagerly snatching it form the pile he ran upstairs to his room to read the latest from Kimberly, but what he got was earth shattering news. It was a Dear John letter if he had ever seen one, and a horrible one at that, not that he had ever read any good ones.

Tommy's life was forever changed after that. It took him a while to come to terms with the idea that Kim had moved on and found someone else. To realize that she didn't want him anymore, that she was perfectly happy in someone else's arms.

Looking back on that day years later, Tommy realized two things. One, that his life hadn't ended that day, he had moved on, prospered, and that he was happy with how his life had turned out. Two, he had become more introverted; He no longer wore his heart on his sleeve for all to see. It wasn't very easy for people to look at his face and tell what kind of mood he was in. He guarded his heart, so much so that he had been accused of building a wall around it that kept everyone out.

There were still days when Tommy relieved the coming of the letter, but those days were few and far between. He had come to realize that he no longer hated Kimberly for what she did to him. Perhaps it was because it had been so many years ago or perhaps it was because he was more mature, but Tommy had even come to forgive her. His only hope was that she was happy where she was, and that one day he would see her again. But nonetheless, her letter had left its mark upon him. Only his scars went beyond that of the flesh, they weren't visible on the outside; no one could see them shiningly like angry welts upon his skin. His scars were the invisible kind, and only someone who looked deep enough into his soul could see them written there.


	5. Secrets

_A/N Set during the episode Storybook Rangers. Sorry if any of the dialogue is a bit off, it's been years since I've actually seen the episode. Thanks to Romilly for pointing out my mistake in the last chapter! I greatly appreciate it._

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Secrets

Most of the books were junk, that was the very first thing that came to Tommy's mind as he and Kimberly began browsing through them. They were old and worn out, with the exception of a few, and most of them were fairly tales that he remembered from his childhood. Although none of them struck a sense of awe in him as they once did, they all had a special place in his heart that he reserved for childish things.

He picked up a well worn copy of an ancient tale that he remembered his father had read to him before tucking him in at night when he heard a small sigh escape from Kimberly.

"I love fairy tales. I've always wanted to be a princess, and get rescued by a handsome prince on a white horse," she said sorting through a small pile of books.

Tommy smiled to himself, as Kimberly revealed this childhood secret, and decided to play along. "Well... how about a white tiger?"

Kimberly's smile said it all, her words were just the icing on Tommy's proverbial cake, "That would work."

They shared a laugh as another book caught Kimberly's gaze. "Oh, I loved this story as a child!"

Tommy glanced from the title of the fairy tale, "Grumble: The Magic Elf" to the reminiscent smile on his girl's face and instantly knew that she was destined to own the magical book that had enchanted her as a child, it was only a matter of if Tommy had the money….

He mentally counted the money in his wallet before deciding that if the fairy tale meant that much to her then he would buy it for her. The smile on her face and the sparkle in her eyes was all the thanks he needed. Of course, the hug was more than appreciated too.

"Thanks Tommy," she said with that cute little grin that he loved so much.


	6. Reaction

Tommy sighed as the phone rang for the tenth time that day, he knew who was on the other end but he chose to ignore it. Kim would eventually give up and stop calling.

Sitting on his bed he outlined his plans for the next day, the sheet of paper lying on his notebook was covered in red marks, had anyone else seen it they would have been sure he had bleed all over it. He picked up his marker and crossed out yet another idea that just didn't seem right. He sighed again as he balled the paper up and threw it in the trash next to the door, there was a lot of work to be done.

--- --- ---

"Hey Kim, happy birthday" said Trini happily. "And how are you this morning?"

"Hey. I'm ok; Tommy's ignoring my phone calls though." She sank heavily into her chair and placed her book bag on the floor. "We were supposed to go out tonight, you know it being my birthday and all, but I can't get him to answer the phone."

"Maybe he wasn't home," suggested Trini.

"Yeah," sighed Kim as the math teacher entered the classroom, "maybe."

Trini shrugged and opened her notebook, but it wasn't until after class that she realized that Kim may have been right about the ignoring part.

"Hi Tommy."

"Hey Kimberly, how are you?"

"I'm fine," she said, giving him a big hug. "Were you home last night, I tried to call forever."

"Uh, no I wasn't. I was working with my uncle."

"Oh," said Kimberly seeing straight through his lie. "Well, are we going to hang out tonight?"

"Tonight? No, I have to work." He leaned over and gave her a hug, "I'll see ya later though."

"Right, later." Kim turned to Trini as Tommy disappeared around the corner. "He forgot my birthday."

Trini smiled, "maybe not. I mean there is still plenty of day left." Seeing that she hadn't convinced Kimberly that Tommy was not a typical male, she changed the subject. "So, Tommy has a job?"

"Apparently, "said Kim dryly. "I'll see ya after school."

"K, bye."

--- --- ---

"Tommy!" Yelled Kimberly at her boyfriends retreating back, "Tommy, we need to talk."

Kim could not believe that Tommy had forgotten her birthday! Not only had he completely forgotten but he was making up all kind of excuses not to hang around her, excuses that made Kim suspicious. What was going on with him? Did he not like her anymore? Was there someone else? Kim shuddered and forced the thoughts away, Tommy wasn't like that, he would tell her if something had changed. So what was it?

"Tommy, what's up? You've been avoiding me like the plague."

Tommy smiled, "nothing, I've just been busy."

"Yeah, busy ignoring your phone and going out of your way to avoid me. Although I must admit that you came up with some pretty clever lies."

"I'm sorry Kim," said Tommy finally. "I promise that I'll make it up to you. Come on."

Kim sighed, he still didn't remember, but she followed him down the street anyway hoping that something in casual conversation would jar his memory. After several attempts at dropping hints Kimberly almost gave up, but decided to try one last time.

"Tommy, Isn't there something that you wanted to tell me? Something that would make me very happy?"

Tommy thought for a second, "You look lovely tonight."

"OK, that too, but not what I was going for."

"Oh," said Tommy opening the door to the gang's favorite hangout, "you mean like happy birthday?"

Kim stepped back as shouts of 'Surprise' and 'Happy Birthday' reached her ears and balloons and confetti fell from the ceiling. A big banner stretched across the back wall proclaimed _Happy Birthday Kimberly_ in bright pink letters Shocked, she turned to face Tommy.

"You did this?"

He smiled and nodded, "yep, I didn't forget. I had to make up all kinds of excuses because I didn't want you finding out."

Kim stood there as her other friends rushed forward to greet her. She was shocked, amazed, and overjoyed all at the same time.

"Thank you Tommy, you're the best," he heard herself say over the din of noise in the room.

Tommy's smile broadened as she leaned over and kissed his cheek, "no Kim, you're the best."


	7. Distraction

Distraction

Kimberly groaned aloud as her coach scolded her for missing practice the day before. This was a story that she had heard many times before, in fact Kimberly was sure that she could quote it back to her coach in her sleep, but sometimes there were things more important than gymnastics. Saving the world for instance, that was definitely high up on Kim's to do list, right up there with learning her new routine. There was only one problem with her wonderful excuse, there was no way she could tell her coach what she had really been doing. So Kimberly took the scolding like a good girl and hurriedly ran off to the locker rooms to change.

_That's it,_ she thought, _no more distractions! I simply cannot afford to miss my chance at making the all state team this year! Ok, it's school, practice, and ranger duties, and that's it! No external stuff to cloud my focus._

Kim sighed as she exited the locker room to begin the day's practice. Standing on the mat by the floor she saw a dark headed figure walk through the side door, suddenly distracted by the welcome sight she almost fell flat on her face.

_Focus Hart!_ Kimberly chided herself. Her thoughts were echoed by the shrill voice of her coach in her ear.

"Focus Kimberly! Do it again!"

Kimberly watch the tall figure cross the gymnasium and felt a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Tommy Oliver was the last person she needed to see right then. He was tall, dark, and handsome, and all the girls in the school wanted him. Kimberly Hart was no exception.

She mentally kicked herself for letting her mind wander, she would have been screaming too, but her coach was doing enough of that for the both of them. The more the woman screamed the more Kim watched Tommy.

_He's dangerous_, she thought, _very dangerous._ At the moment Tommy was the one thing she wanted most and the one thing she didn't need.

Listening to her coach scream made up Kimberly's mind, Tommy Oliver definitely fell into the distraction category. But she did have to hand it to him, he was a gorgeous distraction.


	8. GreenEyed Monster

Green-Eyed Monster

The street glowed with the lights of thousands of pumpkins as various little monsters ran back and forth between the houses, their candy bags loosely swinging from their arms. Skeletons and witches hung from tree limbs as pumpkins and spider webs transformed houses into mansions of horror.

"Tommy, don't you think we are way too old for this," asked Jason as they walked down the blacktopped driveway toward the neighbor's house.

Tommy rolled his eyes, as he sidestepped a pumpkin, but then he shook his head realizing that Jason couldn't see the eye roll under the thick mask.

"No," he said putting his hand on the shoulder of the little boy in front of him, "beside we're chaperoning."

"With candy bags and masks?"

"Yes, you're never too old to go trick or treating as long as you have a kid with you. Right Dustin?"

Dustin pushed the doorbell and grinned up at Tommy through the mask of his ghost costume, "you bet Tommy!"

"Oh my," said the little old lady who answered the door, "what scary costumes you have!" She reached into her black cauldron shaped bag and brought forth three hands full of candy, one for each trick-or-treater.

She smiled kindly at Tommy and Jason as she placed the candy in their bags. "Aren't you boys a little old to be doing this," she asked as she took in their costumes.

Tommy grinned beneath the mask, "We're still kids at heart."

"Yeah, plus they are with me!"

"Aww, how sweet of you to take your little brother out on Halloween!"

"Actually, I'm not their…"

"Come on Dustin, there are other kids waiting," said Tommy grabbing the boy and guiding him back down the path.

"Dude, you know she's right! Why don't we just take Dustin back to his cousin's house and go buy some candy."

"NO! I want to go trick-or-treating! It's no fun to get chocolate at the store!"

Tommy nodded, "yeah Jase, it's no fun."

Jason pushed his mask back over his face and grudgingly followed Tommy and their pint sized charge towards the next house on the street, glad for once that nobody could see his face.

--- --- ---

"We're back!" Dustin's happy voice rang through the house as he flew through the front door dragging Tommy and Jason in his wake.

"Lookie lookie," he said spilling the contents of his bag on the kitchen counter for his mother and aunt to see. "We really scored!"

Tommy pulled his mask off and slipped unnoticed into the living room. With a slight laugh, he tossed the green-eyed monster mask into the lap of the figure lying peacefully on the couch. "Hey you."

"Hey," said Kimberly with a warm smile. "You guys are back early."

He held up his bag and grinned, "Your neighbors were very generous."

"So I see."

Tommy dumped his back on the floor and rummaged around through the pile. Finding what he wanted he turned back to Kimberly.

"I'm really sorry that you had to get sick on Halloween."

"Yeah, I'm just glad that I had you and Jase to take Dustin out for me, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten to go. Thanks Tommy, it means a lot to me."

"Hey, I'm just glad we cold help. Besides, I got you something."

Kim laughed as she took the chocolate he placed in her hand. "White chocolate kisses? Since when do they give those out on Halloween?"

Tommy smiled, "Mrs. Katz still thinks its valentines day, either that or that was all she had left after the rest of the kids raided her." He shrugged, "Well with you being sick I can't give you the real thing so…" He motioned towards the chocolaty sweet, "that's the next best thing."

"You're too sweet Tommy Oliver," said Kimberly with a grin that threatened to crack her face. "But I wouldn't want it any other way."


	9. Smile

Smile

Tommy was a collector, but unlike his friends who collected tangible items, Tommy collected the intangible ones.

Rocks, seashells, baseball cards, CD's, and plants were all the things that his friends hoarded in their rooms and added to as often as they could. But Tommy was different, he had no use for a book full of cards or a shelf cluttered with rocks. No, Tommy didn't want any of those things; he was a collector of smiles.

Every smile had a story to tell, and each smile was unique. A smile was like a photograph, each one was worth a thousand words, and Tommy knew each one of Kimberly's by heart.

There was one smile in particular that he loved. It was one that she had reserved just for him, a smile that no one else could collect because Tommy was the only one who ever saw it. It said a thousand different things without saying anything at all, and it was full of love that touched Tommy's heart and made him feel complete.

As Tommy sat at the table and watched Kimberly play with her little cousin he caught her eye and smiled. The little boy turned around and waved, and Kimberly flashed him a smile that he had never seen before, it was impish and innocent all at the same time, and Tommy loved it instantly. Grinning, he filed the smile away in his mental filing cabinet, another smile to add to his unique collection. After all, who else could say they were a collector of Kimberly's smiles?


	10. Color

Set during Dino Thunder, doesn't really matter when though.

Color

Tommy hated the color pink and everything that it represented, but it hadn't always been that way. There was a time in his life when the color stood for love and happiness, but that had been years ago, back when he was young and 'hopelessly' in love with the pink ranger.

He had never been overly found of the color, it was too bright, too vivacious for his taste. It was a color that all the shallow valley girls seemed to be addicted to, and sadly enough they all had the closets to show for it. Sometimes, when Tommy first arrived in Angle Grove, he had to keep his eyes trained on the floor of the hallway to keep from being blinded by the sea of bubbly pink clad, shallow teenager girls.

But then one day, he meet the one girl who probably had the closet with the most pink clothes out of all the other females in the school, but he found that he suddenly didn't mind that she wore that atrocious color day in and day out like it was the only color on the planet worth wearing.

Eventually he learned why she always wore pink, and it just made him love her…it…all the more. He wasn't sure when he officially stopped hating it, but he was pretty sure it was around the time she became his official girlfriend. He loved to parade around the school with the queen of pink and smile proudly knowing that she was all his…but that was before Kimberly broke his heart and turned his against the wretched color altogether.

He knew it was silly and a bit childish to dislike a color merely because it was the favorite of an ex-girlfriend, but Tommy just couldn't help himself. Something inside of him had snapped after he received the letter and he had sworn to distance himself from anything and everything that would remind him of Kimberly, and that included the color pink.

There were times when he took it to the extreme, he knew, he didn't need anyone to tell him that it was stupid not to date a girl because she liked the color, or because she was wearing a pink item. He even had to stop himself from failing a student because she wore pink to his class ever other day and wrote her homework in a pink glitter pen. He knew it was foolish to walk all the way around the store just to avoid a sale where they had clothing, including something pink, for 50 off, but that was two things that reminded him of the women he had sworn to forget. There were just entirely too many painful memories for him to swallow when they decided to assault him, and he did his best to just stay away from it all.

Now black, that was a color that he could live with. It was dark and mysterious, nothing like bright, perky pink. It didn't hurt his eyes or his heart to look at it, and it most certainly didn't remind him of Kimberly…unless he thought about how their relationship had descended into inky black darkness…but then if he wanted to go that route, he could find fault in every color…but pink was by far the worst.

* * *

Oh boy, can you tell it's like 3 am? ...um, review? Please... 


	11. Home

Disclaimer: What do you think?

Challenge: Home

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The front door creaked in protest as the silent figure on the steps gently eased it opened and stepped into the darkened hallway. He looked around, temporarily blinded by the sudden darkness and blinked rapidly until his eyes adjusted. After a few moments he locked the door and tiptoed up the giant stairs that stood like a wooden sentinel to this right. He had almost made it the safety of his room when he heard a small squeal of excitement that was quickly followed by the sound of two small bare feet hitting the antique wooden floor that covered the house.

"Daddy!" An instant later a small child jumped into his waiting arms and knocked him backwards onto his rear end.

"Shh!" He said urgently, hating to wake his wife in the other room. "Mommy's sleeping."

The little girl nodded and sent her small brown curls bouncing. Her tiny arms reached up to encircle his neck and he planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Daddy," she said in a whisper, "you're home late!"

He chuckled and gave her a warm smile, "daddy had to work late. Why are you still awake?"

She grinned slyly, "mommy wouldn't let me stay up and wait but I wanted to see you, so I didn't go to sleep."

He nodded, watching her small lids falling drowsily over big blue eyes as she put up a brave attempt to fight the sleep that was rapidly falling over her.

"Well it's time for bed now."

He scooped her up and returned her to the warmth of her bed, not failing to notice that she was wearing the pink and white pony pajamas that he had bought her for her birthday the day before. He kissed her cheek gently, hardly believing that she was already three years old. "Goodnight Hannah," he said as he crossed to the door, "I love you."

"Daddy, love you more," said her soft voice as she drifted away into a peaceful sleep. He watched her, the soft rise and fall of her chest, the way her tiny fists curled into balls beside her face as she dreamed. She looked so much liker her mother, but she had her father's temper. Smiling slightly and beginning to feel groggy himself, he headed for his own room.

As he removed his shirt and changed into his pajama pants he smiled at the sight of his wife, asleep and beautiful as ever. The moonlight streamed in from the open curtains and illuminated her face like an angel.

He crawled into bed and curled up by her side, slipping an arm around her waist and ginning at the sight of it. Soon, Hannah would have a little brother to play with and help spoil.

_Spoiled, just like her, _he mused, as he felt his wife stir and waken slightly.

"You're late Tommy," muttered Kimberly sleepily.

"Work was hell," he mumbled as he kissed her gently.

She smiled and kissed him back, "it always is."

He watched in contentment as her breathing began to slow once more, and smiled cheerfully as he laid his head on her shoulder. He closed his own eyes and matched his breathing to hers. The smiled stayed in place as he drifted away to join Kimberly and their daughter in his dreams.

He was home.

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See that pretty little button that says go? Click it and make me smile. :) 


	12. Pride

Disclaimer: Laughs...if only...

Challenge: Pride

I'm trying something a little different with the style.

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He watches her from across the room, his sharp gaze taking in every move that she makes. The light catches her eyes and he can see the glow in them, they little spark of happiness that always accompanies Kimberly everywhere she goes. He wants to go over there and put his arms around her but he doesn't. She's busy working on her new balance beam routing and he would hate to interrupt her.

Instead, he turns back to Ernie and orders a drink. But it isn't long until his gaze is drawn back to her graceful form as she arcs through the air and lands solidly on her feet. The smile on her face tells him that she is pleased with her performance and the round of applause from the groups of overeager, pimply teenage boys nearby tell him that they are pleased too.

Kim graces them with a broad, sweaty, grin and a small bow, but much to their disappointment, she runs towards the bar and throws her slender arms around the man sitting there.

"You were absolutely brilliant out there," says Tommy with a smirk.

He is rewarded with a bright smile and a quick kiss before she takes his drink and proceeds to finish it off. Tommy glances over her tiny shoulder at the boys across the room. He flashes them a smug smile and watches as they shrug if off like it doesn't matter, but as he looks away he notices how they keep glancing back and whispering among themselves.

It makes him proud to know they think Kim is great…and beautiful, but just to make sure they know she's his he kisses her again.

"Tommy, I have to get back to practice," she complains with a smile, playfully pulling away from him.

He lets her go, knowing that he has nothing to worry about from her fanclub across the room. They know who the alpha male is in this place.

With a content expression, he watches Kimberly flip and turn, graceful as a dove. He's so proud of her for being such a great gymnast, but even more than that, he's proud that she is his.


End file.
